Uninsured Employers - Charlotte Workers' Compensation Lawyer

Uninsured Employers - Charlotte Workers' Compensation Lawyer

Between April of 2014 and the end of 2016, the North Carolina Industrial Commission collected more than $2.4 Million in fines from employers who were not accurately covering their employees with workers compensation insurance. Between employers claiming that their employees were independent contractors and others simply not filing the correct paperwork, there were a large number of employers who were found out. In 2015 alone, over 100 employers were charged with improper insurance coverage for their employees. So what does this mean for you? Even if you aren’t injured while working for someone who doesn’t have the proper insurance, you will still end up paying the price. When someone is injured at work and their employer doesn’t carry workers compensation insurance, the bill is then given to the taxpayers for medical treatment from Medicare or Medicaid. It also means that the state loses out on a good amount of tax money that should be owed to them which taxpayers generally have to make up the difference. I don’t know about you, but I think that taxes are already high enough without having to pay what larger businesses should be covering. Obviously the impact is much worse if you are the one who is injured. While medical insurance can help lessen the blow, depending on your injury you may still have to spend thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket. This can put extreme financial burden on you and your family. People have unfortunately lost their homes and more due to this issue. Here at Collier, this is something we hope to prevent from happening to anyone else. Employers that have been found to be in violation of the workers compensation insurance laws can be fined as much as $100 a day while they lack the coverage and are often held responsible for paying an injured worker’s medical bills and disability costs. Unfortunately, if they do not have the money to do so, the person who was injured is the one to suffer the most. If you are employed by someone who does not have the appropriate workers compensation insurance coverage, call the North Carolina Industrial Commission to let them know anonymously that your employer is not in compliance with the law. You never know, it just may be yourself you’re saving down the line.